Gallup: D.C. Only Place in U.S. Where Majority Believes Economy Getting Better

Marine One, the presidential helicopter, takes off from the White House. (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) - In a massive survey that Gallup conducted of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, it turned out that D.C., home of the federal government itself, was the only place where a majority of people said they believed the economy was getting better.

From January through June, Gallup asked 86,429 American adults two questions: Did they believe the economy was getting better or getting worse? Did they believe the current economic conditions were “excellent,” “good,” “only fair,” or “poor

In Washington, D.C., according to the results Gallup released on Friday (see the second page of Gallup's analysis), 70 percent of the people said the economy was getting better and 24 percent said it was getting worse.

Despite their optimism, even most people in D.C. did not think the current economy was excellent. In fact, only 28 percent of D.C. residents rated it excellent or good, according to Gallup, while 17 percent said it was poor.

After D.C., the next most economically optimistic place was Minnesota, where 48 percent said they believed the economy was getting better and 47 percent said it was getting worse.

However, in Minnesota, only 19 percent said they believed the current economy was excellent or good, while 32 percent said it was poor.

The most pessimistic outlook on the economy was found in West Virgina, where 68 percent of the people said the economy was getting worse, and only 8 percent said the economy was currently excellent or good. 55 percent of West Virginians said the current economy was poor.

After West Virginia, the state of Nevada—represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid—had the next highest percentage of people saying the current economy is poor. 52 percent of Nevadans said that was the case, while only 9 percent said the economy was excellent or good.

For Gallup’s full survey results click here, scroll to the bottom of the first page of Gallup's analysis and then click to the second page.